The present invention relates to a method of dispensing a liquid under counterpressure for filing thereof into a container, such as a bottle, in an aseptic or sterile manner. The container that is to be filled is acted upon, at least during a portion of a sterilization phase that precedes a filling phase where the container is filled with the liquid, in a chamber that is adapted to be closed off to the atmosphere, with a hot, gaseous or vaporous sterilization medium that is under pressure, with this medium acting upon an inner surface of the container that delimits the interior thereof, upon the mouth of the container, and also on the outer surface of the container adjacent to the mouth thereof. The chamber is disposed below a filling element that in the filling phase delivers the liquid into the interior of the container via a filling tube that extends through the mouth of the container into the interior thereof. The present invention also relates to an apparatus for carrying out this method. The apparatus includes: a container entry mechanism for supplying the containers that are to be filled; a container outlet mechanism for the discharge of filled and capped containers; a rotor that rotates about a vertical axis of rotation; a plurality of filling elements disposed about the periphery of the rotor, with each filling element including a liquid flow valve for controllable dispensing of the liquid via a liquid channel and a filling tube connected thereto; associated with each filling element a container support that is movable toward and away from the filling element in a vertical direction, with the containers that are to be filled being delivered to the rotor at a container infeed or entry position and being withdrawn from the rotor at a container release or discharge position; below each filling element, a respective chamber that is formed on the rotor and is a bell-shaped portion having a closed upper end adjacent to the filling element and an open bottom end that is remote from the filling element; on each filling element, a sterilization medium delivery means that includes at least one control valve arrangement and that serves for supplying a sterilization liquid to the container and the bell-shaped portion during a sterilization phase that precedes the filling phase; and a mechanism for closing or capping the containers after the same have been filled with the liquid.
In the beverage industry, the problem frequently arises of dispensing beverages, such as fruit juices or the like, in a non-heated state and without the use of chemical additives, into containers or bottles in such a way that an adequate life of the dispensed and capped product is assured. One precondition for this is that during the introduction of the liquid, the containers are very sterile, i.e. free of bacteria, and that this sterility is also retained until the containers are closed or capped.
In one known method for filling bottles with a liquid that is under pressure using a counterpressure filler (U.S. Pat. No. 2,695,743) Wetherby-Williams issued Nov. 30, 1954 for Sterile Filling and Closing Machine, the respective bottle that is to be filled and that is disposed in an upright condition below a filling element has that part of its neck that is provided with the container or bottle mouth in a closed chamber during a sterilization phase that precedes the filling phase. Furthermore, a sterilization medium in the form of steam is introduced into the interior of the bottle via a filling tube, which, incidentally, can be only very short due to the control of the liquid flow valve of the filling element. In this connection, the steam flows through the mouth of the bottle, and also into the closed chamber about this bottle mouth, and can escape from this chamber to the atmosphere via a check valve. With this known method, the bottles are not preheated prior to the sterilization phase. One of the drawbacks of this heretofore known method is that only that portion of the bottle neck that is immediately adjacent to the mouth of the bottle is received by the very small, closed chamber, and in particular only a very short part of the filling tube extends into the interior of the bottle during the sterilization phase, so that the lower, open end of the filling tube is spaced from the bottom of the bottle by a distance that is many times greater than the difference between the open end of the filling tube and the mouth of the bottle. Already for this reason, as well as due to the fact that in the small chamber only that portion of the bottle neck that is immediately adjacent the mouth of the bottle is received, an only insufficient sterilization of the respective bottle results, and in particular, among others, for the reason that the sterilization medium flows about the bottles that are to be treated in an only inadequate manner, as well as that an insufficient heating of the treated bottles is achieved at their critical surfaces or regions. Finally, this known method can be carried out only with a relatively complicated and expensive construction, in particular due to the necessity for a plurality of movable parts at the filling element, and also for the reason that a special holding element is required for the bottle closure in the sterilization chamber.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus of the aforementioned general type with which an aseptic dispensing of a liquid under counterpressure into a container, especially a bottle, can be achieved in a straightforward manner and in a particularly reliable manner without the use of chemical agents.